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Coffee House Press
Coffee House Press is a nonprofit independent press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The press’s goal is to "produce books that celebrate imagination, innovation in the craft of writing, and the many authentic voices of the American experience.""About" Coffee House Press. It is widely considered to be among the top five independent presses in the United StatesMarianne Combs, “Allan Kornblum on the Future of Coffee House Press”, Minnesota Public Radio, 6/22/11. and has been called a national treasure.Anis Shivani, “Coffee House Press Editors And Writers on Indie Literary Publishing, Huffington Post, 02/15/11. The press publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry."Submission Guidelines", Coffee House Press. History Coffee House began with Toothpaste, a mimeograph magazine founded by Allan Kornblum in Iowa in 1970.Jessica Powers, "The impulse to publish is the impulse to share enthusiasm", NewPages.com, Summer 2006. After taking a University of Iowa typography course with the acclaimed Harry Duncan, Kornblum was inspired to turn Toothpaste into Toothpaste Press, a small publishing company dedicated to producing poetry pamphlets and letterpress books.Jessica Powers, "The impulse to publish is the impulse to share enthusiasm". After 10 years of publishing letterpress books, Kornblum closed the press in December 1983; the following year, he moved to Minneapolis, reopened the press as a nonprofit organization, and began printing trade books.Jessica Powers, "The impulse to publish is the impulse to share enthusiasm". Concerned that the press's lighthearted name belied his serious commitment to the press's authors and readers, Kornblum renamed it Coffee House Press.Margo Ashmore, “Passing the Torch at Coffee House Press”, Twin Cities Daily Planet, 6/20/11. The press soon began to receive national acclaim. In the early 1990s, books like Donald Duk by Frank Chin and Through the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita (a 1991 American Book Award winner) drew national attention and also helped to cement the press's continuing reputation for publishing exceptional works by writers of color. As Kornblum once described it, "Coffee House Press has actively published writers of color as writers, as representatives of the best in contemporary literature, first and foremost—then, only secondly, as representatives of minority communities. That might be one of our most important contributions American literature."Dwight Hobbes, "Coffee House Press benefit features Andrei Codrescu", Twin Cities Daily Planet, 10/28/08. In July 2011, after a two-year leadership transition process, Kornblum stepped down to become the press’s senior editor.“Fischbach Named Publisher at Coffee House Press”, Publishers Weekly, 6/22/11. Chis Fischbach, who began at the press as an intern in 1994, succeeded him as publisher. Coffee House has published more than 300 books, with over 250 still in print, and releases 15-20 new titles each year.“Fischbach Named Publisher at Coffee House Press”. It has earned a reputation for long-term commitment to the authors it chooses to publish.Michael Coffey, “Growing Up Small Press”, Publishers Weekly, 10/1/10. The press is currently located in the historic Grain Belt Bottling House in Northeast Minneapolis. Books and authors Especially notable books from Coffee House Press include the best-selling Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan Lowlife by Sam Savage and National Book Award finalists Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith (poetry, 2008), and I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita (fiction, 2010).Laurie Hertzel, "Changing of the guard at Coffee House Press, Star Tribune, 06/28/11. Other national award-winning titles include American Book Award winners The Ocean in the Closet by Yuko Taniguchi (2008), Somewhere Else by Matthew Shenoda (2006),"The American Book Awards/ Before Columbus Foundation", American Booksellers Association. American Library Association Notable Book Miniatures by Norah Labiner (2003) and ALA Best First Novels List selection Our Sometime Sister, also by Labiner (2000). Other award-winning Coffee House Press authors include Ron Padgett, Anne Waldman, Frank Chin, Kao Kalia Yang, Laird Hunt, and Brian Evenson. See also * List of American book publishers References External links * Coffee House Press Official website. * Submission Guidelines * Poets & Writers Profile * Consortium Book Sales & Distribution Category:Book publishing companies based in Minnesota Category:Culture of Minneapolis, Minnesota Category:Non-profit organizations based in Minnesota Category:Publishing companies established in 1984